Édouard Jules Henri Pailleron was a French poet and dramatist best known for his play Le Monde où l'on s'ennuie.
Early life
Édouard was born in Paris on 7 September 1834. From a Parisian cultured "bourgeoise" family, he earned first a doctorate in law, then became in succession a lawyer, notary clerk, soldier, but irresistibly attracted by writing, he achieved his first success in 1860 with his one-act playLe Parasite, represented at the Odéon-Théâtre in Paris.
Career
He had a successful career with his comedies about social customs. His first big hit was obtained at the Theatre du Gymnase, in 1868, with Le Monde où l'on s'amuse, after which he became Director of the Comédie Française. Following his marriage, he became co-director of the Revue des Deux Mondes, a monument of the Romantic literature era founded by his father-in-law. His career culminated in 1881 with Le Monde où l'on s'ennuie, one of the most strikingly successful pieces of the period with a prodigiously long run The play, a satirical comedy in three acts, ridiculed contemporary upper class society and was filled with transparent allusions to well-known people. The play was later adapted into English by Clinton Stuart under the title Our Best Society and presented at Madison Square Theatre in 1896. In America, the role of Suzanne, which was originated by French actress Suzette Reichenberg, was played by Annie Russell. His triumphal success earned him his election to the famous Académie française in 1882 and he was awarded the Légion d'honneur. Neither of his two last works achieved so great a success. After his death, his plays continued to be produced and staged for many years.
Personal life
In 1862, he married Marie Buloz, the daughter of François Buloz, founder and director of the world-wide famous Revue des Deux Mondes. From his marriage with Marie, Edouard had three children:
Édouard Pailleron Jr., who married Marguerite Forest, a daughter of his friend, the French Senator Charles Forest.
Pailleron was a close friend of the American artist John Singer Sargent, who studied painting at the Parisian École des Beaux-Arts, introducing him to the Parisian high-life society which was very important for the beginning of his successful career. Sargent painted several portraits of Edouard and his family, which are all currently in museums, mainly American ones. Sargent painted a portrait of Edouard in 1879, also his wife Marie in 1880, and also of his children, Edouard Jr. and Marie-Louise in 1881. These paintings were among the very first to make John Singer Sargent famous.
Legacy
A statue bust of Edouard Pailleron, sculpted in 1906 by Russian-born artist Leopold Bernard Bernstamm, is located in the Parc Monceau in Paris. Finally, his vacation property above Chambéry, named "La Souris", built in the last years of the 19th century, is still surviving and virtually unchanged as the original park with trees more than 100 years old, even if the whole is now an allotment. In contrast, in the same park, the cottage of his friend Charles Forest, Senator of Savoie, whose daughter Marguerite married his son Edouard, no longer exists.
Collège Édouard-Pailleron
In France, his name became famous again in the 1970s because it was given to a school in Paris near Buttes Chaumont Park in northeastern Paris. The school was destroyed by a fire on 6 February 1973, killing 21 children.
